Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to elastic fasteners for shoes, and more particularly to simple, inexpensive, aesthetically pleasing, easily installed substitutes for shoe laces which each fit between pairs of opposing eyelets in shoes, and which resiliently urge the two flaps of the shoes together in a manner allowing both easy installation of the shoes and comfortable wearing of the shoes without removing the fasteners of the present invention.
As long as shoes have been worn, people have tried to find better ways to fasten them to their feet. At present, the vast majority of shoes utilize laces which are threaded through eyelets located in flaps on the sides of the portion of the shoe in front of the wearer's ankle. The flaps are separated wider apart to allow the wearer's foot to be inserted, and are pulled closer together once the wearer's foot is in the shoe to retain the shoe on the foot. In the past, hardware such as buttons and hooks were used to draw the two flaps together, but these types of fasteners are virtually unused at the present time.
Popular alternatives today include the use of an elastic strip sewn to the two flaps in loafers, the use of zippers in some boots, and the use of Velcro mating strips to fasten the two flaps of shoes together, particularly in athletic shoes for children. Nonetheless, the most popular shoe fasteners today by a wide margin are shoelaces and eyelets. Although eyelets are found in virtually all shoes other than loafers and slippers, various schemes have been and continue to be devised to use different fasteners with shoes having eyelets in the flaps thereof.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,918,840, to Nardulli, teaches a novel fastener having a zipper, the sides of which are fastened to the eyelets in the two flaps of a shoe by elastic loops and buttons. U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,352, to Ginsberg discloses a Velcro fastener having base members which may be attached using the eyelets to the flaps of a conventional pair of shoes. These two schemes have some disadvantages in that they are not simple of construction (and thus not inexpensive), they are not easy to attach to the eyelets of shoes (both requiring some time to attach to the shoes), and their appearance may not be seen by potential users as aesthetically pleasing.
Another approach which has found application in the art is the use of elastic fasteners extending between pairs of eyelets in shoes to draw the two flaps together. Elastomeric members thus may be stretched to allow the shoe to be put on the foot without removing the elastomeric members. Once the shoe is on the foot, the elastomeric members draw the two flaps together, keeping the fit of the shoe on the foot comfortably snug.
Examples of elastomeric fasteners for shoes are abundant in the art, and include such dated devices as those found in U.S. Pat. No. 1,966,135, to Reh, and in U.S. Pat. No. 2,689,991, to Fedankiw et al. The Reh patent shows an early use of elastomeric material, with an elastomeric loop being fastened to each eyelet by a washer or a button. Elastomeric loops on opposing pairs of eyelets are held together by a metal connecting link. The Reh apparatus is simply not practical, since the inventor calls for the elastomeric loop to be removable to facilitate installation; in order for it to be fixed, it would require tools to fasten it, an undesirable factor.
The Fedankiw et al. patent uses an elastomeric segment which is threaded through the eyelets, and then retained by a holding plate which is crimped over the elastomeric segment in several places. Like the Reh apparatus, the Fedankiw et al. shoe fastener is not practical in today's world of self-installation. If the prospective consumer cannot install a shoe fastener quickly and simply, and without tools, the shoe fastener will have no market appeal.
Several foreign patents of this era may also be found; examples of these patents are British Patent No. 213,204, to Hansen; and Italian Patent No. 435,849, to Ottaviani. The Hansen patent discloses an elastic strip fastening onto hooks mounted in shoes, instead of eyelets. The Ottaviani patent teaches a spring attached by rivets to opposing eyelets in the flaps of a shoe. These devices seem to be a step backward from the devices taught in the Reh and Fedankiw et al. patents.
More recent U.S. patents have more practical fasteners, at least from the standpoint that they are relatively easy to install and may be installed by the wearer. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,839,804, to Benoit; U.S. Pat. No 3,137,952, to Shears; U.S. Pat. No. 3,197,833, to Puthuff; U.S. Pat. No. 3,217,371, to Collins; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,439, to Gentry. The Benoit patent teaches elastic laces each stretching between a pair of eyelets on opposing flaps of a shoe. The retaining means is the weak point of the Benoit reference; the Z-shaped ends of the laces are received in an anchor plate member, with staples being used to hold the ends of the laces to the anchor plate member.
The Shears reference has elastic straps extending between pairs of eyelets on opposing flaps of a shoe. Shears, like Benoit, has a weakness in the attachment means, which is through screw members mounted on the opposed sides of the flaps. The Shears fastener is also complex of construction, being in this regard less desirable than Benoit. The Puthuff fastener is even more complex, using special intricate hooks, a tongue pad, and, in the preferred embodiment, a cover for the entire apparatus.
The Collins patent teaches another highly complex elastic fastener which is riveted to the eyelets. Even in the alternate embodiment, a rivet-like connector is required. The many parts of the Collins device also indicate its likely high cost. The Benoit, Shears, Puthuff, and Collins devices are all thus complex to attach, and seem to be designed for installation by a shoemaker. It can hardly be a coincidence that all of these references are from an era in which people used shoemakers much more than they do today.
The Gentry patent is more recent, and is of a more practical nature as well. Gentry uses a number of elastic strips, each of which has fasteners at both ends. The fasteners on each strip are inserted into opposing eyelets in the flaps. Pins, rivets, or hooks are used to retain the ends of the strips in the eyelets. The elastic strips have a design thereon. Gentry represented a remarkable improvement over the other references noted above.
However, the Gentry reference has some drawbacks as well, the most notable of which is its method of attachment to the eyelets. The pins are difficult to install, and may easily work their way out of the loops at the ends of the strips. The rivets are apparently designed to pop into the eyelets, and it seems likely that they would have a propensity to pop out as well. The hooks are more difficult to install, and may come out as well. In addition, the design of the strips in the Gentry patent makes it likely that they would tear and break over time.
Thus, it is apparent that there is room in the art for improvement. It is the primary objective of the improved fastener of the present invention that it provide an improved means of attaching an elastomeric member to eyelets. The attachment means must first be simple and inexpensive of construction. It must also be easy to attach to eyelets, and must require no tools to make the attachment. Once attached, the fastener of the present invention should remain securely attached to the eyelet to which it is fastened. It should also preferably be removable from the shoe onto which it has been installed, in a manner not damaging the fastener and allowing for its reuse.
In addition, the fastener of the present invention must be comfortable in use on shoes. It must allow for the shoes to be put on easily, and it must retain the flaps of the shoes snugly once they are installed. The fastener must also be highly durable, lasting for an extended period of time. It must be aesthetically pleasing as well. In order to enhance the marketability of the fastener of the present invention, it must also be of inexpensive construction. Finally, it is also an objective that all of the aforesaid advantages and objectives be achieved without incurring any substantial relative disadvantage.